Allure Names Jessica Cruel New Editor in Chief
Condé Nast has appointed Jessica Cruel editor in chief of Allure, succeeding Michelle Lee, who jumped ship to join Netflix.
Cruel is no stranger to the beauty media brand, having joined Allure in 2019, first as features director and later becoming content director. During her time at the title, she has worked to develop editorial content across multiple platforms, as well as special projects including the Allure Podcast, the Allure Beauty Box subscription program, and the Readers’ Choice Awards and Best of Beauty Awards franchises.
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Prior to joining Allure, Cruel served as deputy beauty director at Refinery29, and has also held editorial roles at Self, PopSugar and New York magazine.
“I am so thrilled that Jessica is Allure’s new editor in chief,” said Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Condé Nast. “It is no small feat to follow in Michelle Lee’s footsteps, but I have no doubt that Jessica can do just that. She is a natural leader and a brilliant journalist, and she exudes a positive energy that is felt by all those lucky enough to work with her.”
Allure recently opened a store in New York City’s SoHo through a licensing partnership with Stôur Group. It’s set over two floors, featuring around 300 makeup, hair care and skin care products at any given time, curated by staffers at Allure. The hope is that it can build off the success of its beauty recommendations and The Allure Beauty Box, a handpicked selection of editor-approved beauty products that launched in 2012, of which revenue has risen 10 percent year-over-year.
A representative for Allure said site traffic has risen 5 percent year-over-year, while engagement is up 13 percent. This comes as speculation continues to persist around the future of the print magazine, although in a January interview with WWD, Lee insisted that print remains core to the brand.
“As a longtime beauty editor, working at Allure is a dream. It has always served as an unparalleled source of beauty journalism, as well as my personal mood board and shopping guide,” Cruel said. “I am thrilled to shepherd Allure through the next chapter — one focused on making industry-wide impact, spotlighting the many communities that use beauty as a form of self-expression, and celebrating how these practices connect us all.”
As for Lee, she took to her Instagram in July to announce that she was leaving the beauty title after close to six years to join Netflix’s marketing team as vice president of editorial and publishing where she’ll be working closely with its chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John.
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